Community Building

Atlanta Regional Commission Supported Web Site

Community Building

Goal 1: Enhance the public's confidence in local government by coupling strong leadership with strict accountability.

Confidence in government as measured through opinion polls

Goal 2: Develop an active concern for community in our youth.

Number of students in the region participating in youth organizations such as the Y Clubs, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, 4-H, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), and Boys and Girls Club TEENSupreme® Keystone (leadership) Clubs.

Goal 3: Encourage citizens to take a more active role in their communities.

Voter turnout

Rates of volunteerism and charitable giving

Goal 4: Increase the role of citizens in making decisions that affect the community.

Number of applications to the Regional Leadership Institute (RLI)

Goal 5: Build more partnerships between government and grassroots citizen groups.

Survey of local government officials to discover number of cooperative arrangements or programs with citizen groups

Goal 6: Increase the level of partnerships among the private sector, government, nonprofit organizations and the community.

Number of contracts between and among local governments and private for-profit and not-for-profit service-delivery organizations

Goal 7: Create more political opportunities for people from disadvantaged groups.

Number of minorities in elected offices

Rate of voter turnout among minority groups

Links

GOAL 5: Build more partnerships between government and grassroots citizen groups.

INDICATOR: Survey of local government officials to discover number of cooperative arrangements or programs with citizen groups

Why is this important?

Formal, established partnerships between local governments and their citizens provide a consistent, accessible avenue for citizen input into the routine functions of government. Tracking these partnerships can help us evaluate their frequency and effectiveness.

How are we doing?

Of the 49 local governments responding to our survey, 38 percent had 1-3 such citizen groups, while 15 percent had 4-6.

Of these, by far the most prevalent were citizen boards involved in planning and zoning decisions, with 50 percent of the respondents having such groups. Other popular citizen task forces or committees focused on downtown development, historic preservation, recreation, and economic development.